For a great number of years, ties have been used as an important part of business and formal attire. Once tied, the top of the tie is secured within the user's shirtcollar, and the lower ends of the tie lie adjacent the button edge (the placket) of the user's shirt front. In a standard tie, one of the ends is a wide end and this end rests atop the other, narrower end. Since it is desired to maintain the tie in a centered relationship over the placket of the shirt, a number of devices have been developed through the years so as to affix the tie in its proper position.
Unless the ends of the tie are somehow fastened in place, they can move away from the shirt front and thereby cause numerous problems. On a windy day, the ends can be blown about and cause the user to appear disheveled. While eating, if the user leans forward, the tie can swing outwardly and brush against food and become soiled. Without benefit of a restraining device, the tie may generally become misaligned from its optimum position as a result of the wearer's movements.
Several kinds of necktie holders are available which clamp or attach both to the shirt and the necktie and provide a visible and external connection to the tie on the outer appearing surface such as a tie bar or what is commonly known as a "tie tack". The tie bar, of course, clamps both necktie folds to the shirt front. The tie tack, by means of a pin, is attached to the necktie through both folds. A friction clutch engages the pin and is connected by means of a bar and chain to the shirt front through a button hole.
While a tie bar does not mar the outward appearing surface of the tie material, it does have a tendency to skew, slide, and permit the necktie to bulge. A tie tack, even though ornamental and available in a variety of designs, does result in punched holes, broken threads, raveling, and other damage to the tie. This usually requires that the necktie always be worn with a tie tack to avoid showing the damage of the material. Wearer's of neckties would like to avoid the shortcomings of tie bars and tie tacks and would prefer, in many instances, to use no visibly showing holder to maintain the necktie in position because of the natural beauty of the tie material itself.
It has been known to apply a label to the necktie during the manufacturing thereof. This label can serve as a holder for the interior branch of the tie. While this arrangement prevents separation of the two tie branches, it does not position the entire tie relative to the shirt front. In any event, permanent attachments to the necktie are undesirable and complicate the manufacturing process and add to the cost of the necktie. Where a designer label or loop is attached permanently to the tie, it is impractical to provide a buttonhole in such loop or attachment because this requires a tying of the necktie in a precise manner at each wearing. If the necktie is not tied with great care at each wearing, then the loop attachment will not be aligned with one of the shirt buttons.
In the past, various patents have issued on devices for securing the necktie to the shirt. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,474,503, issued on Oct. 28, 1969, to J. W. Less shows a tie anchor connected to the back of the necktie. The tie anchor has a vertically elongated slot therein into which the button of the shirt front of the wearer is inserted. The slot has a vertical height substantially greater than the diameter of the button and a width less than the diameter of the button whereupon the tie can slide up and down on the button during normal movement of the wearer and yet is held adjacent to the shirt front of the wearer. The tie anchor is made of a flexible sheet material. Hook-shaped end portions of the anchor facilitate connecting the anchor to the necktie by slipping the hooked ends through the stitches at the rear of the necktie body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,909, issued on Sep. 2, 1980, to O. V. Anderson shows a combined clasp and tie slide which is designed for use in removably attaching a clasp to a shirt front. The tie slide is adjustable to accommodate neckties of varying widths. This tie slide is adapted so as to hold the necktie in a proper position relative to the front of the shirt.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,576, issued on May 9, 1989, to G. W. Prince, Jr. discloses a buttonslot necktie fastener. This fastener is permanently fastened to the back side of a necktie loop/label oriented parallel to the necktie so as to allow the narrow section of the necktie to be captured inbetween the wide section of the necktie and the loop/label. An adhesive material is provided so as to secure to the loop/label. A slot is provided in one section of the fastener so as to be received by a shirt button.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,185, issued on Nov. 5, 1991, to R. T. Howard shows a concealable tie clasp which is constructed in a manner such that it attaches to the button hole edge of a shirt and engages the designer label sewn onto the rear surface of the front panel of a four-in-hand necktie. The tie clasp engages the shirt by means of a spring-loaded type of clip. A vertically elongated holding loop is disposed on the forward surface of the clip for engaging the designer label. Once the tie is engaged by the holding loop, the tie remains generally centered above the vertical row of buttons on the shirt, it is permitted limited vertical and horizontal movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,547, issued on May 5, 1992, to I. A. Abdallah provides an extended neckwear shirt attachment device. This device includes an elongated base member, a button attachment means which is attached in slidable and threaded engagement to the base member so as to form a unitary structure for permitting the slidable movement of the button attachment means along the entire length of the base member. A means is provided so as to fixedly attach the unitary structure to the wide forepart of the extended neckwear. The device is selectively attachable to a button of the shirt of the wearer by engagement of the button attachment means with the button.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tie clip that is concealed behind the tie during use.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tie clip which maintains the vertical orientation of the tie during wearing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tie clip that allows upward and downward movement of the tie during use.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tie clip that is adaptable to a wide variety of tie configurations and shirt configurations.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tie clip that is relatively inexpensive and easy to use.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.